[TheFlyingFish]

Just anecdotally, I wouldn't be surprised if a Camry really were "more valuable" (as measured by some sort of ideal fixed value-marker not subject to inflation) than in 1990. I seem to recall when I was growing up that the average expected lifetime of a car if well-maintained was about 100k miles; now it seems to be about 200k.

Housing may be a more debatable case, though.

[skrtskrt]

I agree that’s an opinion many people familiar with cars would share.

However the usefulness of that improvement is going to be a lot lower to someone who just needs a car to get somewhere rather than someone who can afford to buy a car with the long view of how it will affect their finances over many years.

The “purchasing power of the dollar”, even if you accept the accuracy of hedonic adjustments, is an extremely limiting view of the value many participants in the economy are deriving from that dollar.

I agree housing is a better example because the cost floor is much higher.

[perl4ever]

"the usefulness of that improvement is going to be a lot lower to someone who just needs a car to get somewhere rather than someone who can afford to buy a car with the long view of how it will affect their finances over many years."

I don't understand how a longer lifespan could not affect TCO regardless of how long you keep your car or what portion of its life you use. What does it mean to say people can't afford to spend less money?